Mountain hideaway

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John Lee, the unassuming little bloke who goes by the
Mountains In The Sky tag, doesn't like to talk about
himself.

Sitting outside a North Fitzroy cafe, Lee - who is preparing to
launch his exquisitely lush and dreamy solo debut, Celestial
Son - would much rather direct conversation towards the
current crop of fellow Melbourne electronic artists.

"Oh man," he smiles. "I get so much inspiration from all these
people. I could go on forever if I had the time, and thought I
wasn't going to be really rude and leave someone important
out."

This humble diversion seems typical of Lee, who, despite nearly
a decade in the local scene, has never sought to build a profile.
After releasing two EPs with Geelong indie-poppers
Honeysuckle during the mid-'90s, Lee has kept relatively
quiet, spending his time collecting records and playing occasional
DJ sets around Melbourne.

"I'd been playing guitar since I was about 15," he explains.
"But after a while, I realised I was just playing the same things
over and over again - my fingers were doing the same shapes."

"So I just started trying things out at home," he continues. "I
was finding old keyboards in op-shops and second-hand shops, garage
sales and that sort of thing, you know. And I had records and
turntables, so I started sampling things, and it all just grew from
there."

It wasn't until more recently that Lee returned to the stage -
invited by friend Sally Seltmann to hold down guitar, keyboard and
sample duties as part of her New Buffalo live band.

Celestial Son already looks like making waves in
Melbourne's instrumental music community. Recorded at Lee's home,
the album has an expansively visual and narrative sensibility.
Traversing all manner of sample-craft, cut'n'paste and live
instrumentation, it blends playful psyche-pop sensibilities with
orchestral flourishes and glowing keyboard flavours. But while
sprawling in terms of arrangement and stylistic infusion, Lee's
work possesses a particularly intimate, interior and dream-like
dynamic.

"I don't know about dreaming per se," he muses, "but definitely
being in your own world, and being able to create your own
environment and life and reality in your own head."

Tonight's launch will be the first time Mountains In The
Sky has been aired to the public in live form, and Lee will be
using the services of an old friend - former Honeysuckle
bandmate Stuart McFarlane - to bring the show to life, with an
array of drums, guitars, samplers, turntables, synths and organs.
"We're going to be playing it as live as possible," he says. "We
don't want to be the kind of band that plays along to a
discman."

But although Lee is stepping back into the light, it's anything
but a grab for indie stardom. "It's a really hard situation," he
says, shifting in his seat. "I'd love to let people know more about
myself. But I'd rather just be able to be anonymous. Having people
listen to my record is awesome, but that's as far as I need to go
with it."

Mountains In The Sky launch Celestial Son tonight at the
Northcote Social Club. The album is out through
Trifekta/Shock.